1. How did you first get involved with title
insurance?
“I was having dinner with an American
lawyer friend in 2001. I asked him what he
thought the next opportunity would be in
this region. He said, ‘title insurance’. I was
aware of the concept of title insurance but
not of the breadth of the products for the
property sector
I did some research on the market which led
me to First American and its UK subsidiary,
First Title Insurance plc. My timing turned
out to be perfect, as they were already
looking at the market and had carried out
some due diligence.”
When did you start the business?
“First American Financial Corporation
appointed my company Dekoulans as their
exclusive agents in CEE in September 2003
and after delivering many presentations to
lawyers, developers, investors and real
estate agents explaining title insurance and
its application in real estate transactions I
sold my first policy in December 2004.
During 2004 the EU accession of several CEE
countries meant that the regulatory and
compliance side became much more
important, and, as we had worked well
together, First Title and Dekoulans formed
a joint venture in September 2005”
How did the 2004 CEE expansion of the EU
impact the business?
“A feeling of optimism swept the region,
with the expectation that EU funds would
flow I and this gave multinationals a great
deal of comfort. It allowed easier operations
and meant we could operate under freedom
of services and issue policies directly from
the UK, but give clients comfort that we
were recognised by the local regulator.
“First Title was in front of the wave of capital
that was flowing to Eastern Europe. We
recruited a team of talented colleagues from
banking, finance and insurance to help
identify the key opportunities and areas
where we could promote title insurance.”
What about the 2008/2009 financial crisis?
“It was my first real recession as a senior
manager. I honestly didn't think it would be
as harsh, as we were a very small team in
CEE and the penetration of insurance was
still very low. I naively thought that although
the overall market would be slower, First
Title would insure more of a smaller market
and that we could continue growing, albeit
more slowly.
That expectation proved correct in 2008, as
we had our best year yet, insuring over
€1.7bn of commercial real estate. It was also
the year we recruited David Yearn, a target‐
orientated business development
professional with significant industry
contacts.
As First Title CEE enters a new chapter, Andrew Jackson reflects on the highs and
low of the last decade and considers what the future might hold for Title
Insurance throughout Europe in the coming years.
Celebrating 10 years of success!

2. “When global liquidity dried up in 2009, it was
a different story altogether, and the market
ground to a halt. The tap was switched firmly
off. Initially this didn't worry me, as I thought
the banks would foreclose and sell their
properties at lower values. What happened
instead was the ‘extend and pretend’
mentality.”
As a service provider, we need a market
transacting, we need buyers and sellers. But
transaction levels plummeted. We did all the
things you have to do, reduced head count
and costs, stabilised the business, but it is
hard to have to cut back when you are trying
to build something.”
How long did it take for the business to
bounce back?
“By 2011, the market started transacting
again and people had a much more diligent
approach. Clients read the due diligence
reports and listened to their lawyers when
they raised issues. The risk manager was
unlocked from the basement and actually
listened to. The market was slower, but we
were insuring more of it.”
What do you expect over the next 10 years?
“I'm still very ambitious and I’m very proud of
the team I built and the achievements we
made. I'm also very excited to be leading the
European growth plans for First Title. I see
many synergies working with our colleagues
more closely in the USA, as well as helping our
existing clients across a broader territory.”
“Unfortunately on a geopolitical level, there
will be many risks and challenges, but for
clients in business they can't sit on their
hands. They have to carefully structure their
deals to deploy capital and give a return to
their investors. Insurance as a tool to mitigate
their risk will become more widespread.”
“Our products have a place in the European
and international market and I envisage that
legal indemnity insurance, in the form of reps
and warranty insurance and pure title
insurance, will become commonplace in
Europe. The challenge for us as insurers will
be developing solutions to meet the
increased demands, using technology and big
data. There are also many initiatives at the
EU level to unify and standardise land
registries in Europe, so these will create
further opportunities for our industry.”
Andrew Jackson is sales director, Western
Europe.
For more information on First Title, our
products and services, please contact us
using the details below:
Call: +36 1 301 0835
Email: ajackson@firsttitle.eu
Visit: www.firsttitle.eu
First Title Insurance plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation
Authority. First Title Insurance plc is registered in England under company number 01112603. Registered office: First Title Insurance plc,
ECA Court, 24‐26 South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1DU. (J15)